The Trouble With Paige
by NameForsaken
Summary: Alison has been having trouble with Paige for a while, now. At what point will the constant fighting stop?
1. Chapter 1

The goal was just a few feet away, and Alison had almost a clear shot. But getting past the goalie would be tough. She dribbled the ball in the tiny space around her, looking around her to weigh her options. Paige McCullers was open on the other side of the field, and she was a much better kicker than Alison, but there was not a chance in the world she was going to give the ball to that freak. She stepped back hesitantly as she readied herself to kick the ball, but all of a sudden, she felt a huge presence gaining on her, and she quickly lost her balance. She could hear her teammates screaming at her as she fell to the ground, the taste of grass filling her mouth.

The loud shriek of Coach Meyers's whistle sounded in the air, and Alison lifted her head to see the rest of her teammates running toward the opposite goal. She planted her hands beneath her as she began to push herself up, but just as she was about to get to her knees, a sharp pain in her right shoulder caused her to fall back to the dirt. She rolled onto her back, and glared at the girl standing above her. "What the hell?" she hissed.

"Next time," the girl said to her through gritted teeth, "pass the ball to me. I was wide open!" Paige gave her a spiteful smirk, and started down the field with the rest of the team.

Alison sat up, and lifted a hand to her wounded shoulder, flinching as she tried to massage the sore spot. The coach blew her whistle one more time, signaling the end of practice, but Alison stayed where she was for a moment longer, watching angrily as the other girls disappeared into the parking lot. When she was the only one left on the field, she slowly picked herself up to her feet, and walked to her brother's car.

Jason barely acknowledged her as she climbed into the passenger's seat, and tore off her cleats. She sunk back into her seat as Jason started the ignition, being careful not to rub her shoulder against the cushion. She closed her eyes, wondering to herself what made the girls on her soccer team so different from the rest of the girls in Rosewood. She had never been subjected to so much physical abuse in her entire life, and she wasn't so sure it was worth wasting her breath anymore.

When they arrived home, Alison slipped past her parents, and locked herself in her bedroom. She checked her phone, which had been bombarded with texts and missed phone calls from her friends, but she felt too tired and worn-out to answer any of them. Instead, she plopped down on her bed, and stared up at her ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. She wasn't even thinking of anything, really, if only because the searing pain in her back was impossible to ignore. She'd been butting heads with Paige McCullers for months, now, but every time it seemed like she'd finally escaped from the girl, she'd find herself caught in yet another one of Paige's tangled, torturous webs.

She didn't realize how much time had passed when she heard a knock on her door about a half-hour later. She had little motivation to get up and answer it, but she managed to push herself up into a sitting position. "What?" she called out, surprised by how hoarse her voice sounded.

"It's me," a familiar voice echoed back. "Can I come in?"

Alison's eyes widened when she realized who it was. She sluggishly got to her feet, and pulled open the door. "Cece."

"You look terrible," the older blonde remarked, walking past her to the bed. "Did someone get the best of you today?"

Cece was one of the only people in Rosewood who actually knew about Alison's ongoing feud with Paige, and about a lot of other things Ali was never willing to tell anyone else. She looked up to her like an older sister, and unlike Jason and most of his other friends, Cece wasn't ashamed to be seen with Alison out in public. She was also one of the only people Ali felt as though she could be a real human being around, rather than trying to be the perfect, stuck-up bitch everyone else in Rosewood seemed to think that she was. She started toward Cece, and gave her a hesitant look. "I have a weird question."

The other girl crossed her arms. "Hon, you should know by now there are no weird questions with me…. What's up?"

She crouched down in front of Cece, and pulled back the collar of her soccer jersey to reveal the huge bruise on her shoulder. "How bad does this look?"

"Damn," Cece said after a moment. "Who did it?"

"Who do you think?" Alison snapped.

Her friend sighed. "Pigskin?"

"Yep." Pigskin was the nickname Alison had given Paige, one she thought was quite fitting. For some reason, calling the jock by her actual name just made her want to shudder. She pulled the collar back over her shoulder again, not wanting to look at the damage. If it was as bad as Cece made it out to be, then there was no doubt she was going to have to get it looked at, anyway. "I swear, that girl is psychotic."

Cece stood up, and gave her a stern look. "This battle between you guys is really starting to get old. You need to dig up something on her and put an end to that bitch once and for all."

Alison sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to meet her friend's eyes. She knew that when she decided to let Cece into her secret world, she was going to have to accept certain consequences, but she just wasn't sure whether she was willing to face those that came with dealing with Paige. It wasn't the first time the jock had caused her physical harm, but she knew that if she didn't listen to Cece, it certainly would not be the last.

"I've got to go, though," the older woman said to her, giving her an apologetic smile. She stepped past Alison, and left the room, her three-inch heels echoing behind her as she trekked down the stairs, and out of the house.

Once Cece's car had rolled out of the driveway, Alison pulled out her yearbook, and began doing research. Paige McCullers was the daughter of a deacon, a highly religious, wealthy man. He was also quite a jerk to everyone else in Rosewood, but Alison was forced to turn the other cheek when he and his daughter were around, because her own father played golf with Mr. McCullers, and every girl knew never to get between a man and his golf partner. It was going to be a challenge digging up something on Paige that would ultimately end their feud, but Alison was more than up for it. She wanted to prove herself, and more than anything, she wanted Cece to be proud of her.

* * *

After an unsuccessful night of trying to unearth Paige's dark, dirty little secrets, Alison was anything but enthusiastic when she went to school the next morning. She played it off fine as she always did, though, and held her head high as she walked through the halls of Rosewood. As she met up with her friends, their innocent, smiling faces made her feel a little more comfortable and safe. They may have been completely clueless about her troubles with Paige, but just being around people who were too afraid to judge her cleared her mind of all of her worries for the time being.

By lunch that afternoon, Alison had nearly forgotten about her incident at soccer practice the day before, until her phone went off in her pocket, and she found a text from Cece flashing across her screen. _How's the digging?_ it read, and the uneasy feeling Alison had been feeling all night returned to her immediately, as if it had never even left.

Spencer Hastings, the girl who lived next door to her who also happened to be one of her best friends, glanced up at Ali across the table with a look of concern. "Everything okay?"

Alison quickly stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and gave her friend what she thought to be a convincing smile. "Of course." She crossed her arms over the edge of the table, and tilted her head slightly to the side. "So, what's the word for Saturday? Are we still on?"

The brunette gave her an affirmative nod. "Yes…. Well, Hanna and Aria coming over. Emily can't."

"Aww. Why not?" Alison didn't know why she was so disappointed, but for some reason, everything was much more fun when the five of them were all hanging out together. There was a certain strength she felt when she was with all of her friends.

"Her dad's coming home for the weekend," Spencer explained as she twisted the cap off her thermos. "She and her parents are going to some camp up in the Poconos."

Emily's father was probably one of the nicest men Alison had ever met. He was kind to everyone, and he was known all around Rosewood for his loyalty to the U.S. Army. He had been stationed in Iraq for months, now, so it wasn't too often Emily had the chance to spend time with him. Alison didn't really understand how her friend could go so long without seeing her dad, but then again, it was probably just one of those things she had become used to. "I'll have to catch her before she takes off, then."

Spencer poured coffee into the cap of her thermos, and as she lifted it to her lips, Ali couldn't help but wonder how the brunette's slender body had managed to sustain so much caffeine. She kept her thoughts to herself, though, as her friend lowered the cap to the table, and continued to speak. "Did you hear Jenna and Toby this morning? They were getting into a pretty heated argument out in the courtyard before first period."

Ali shrugged. She could care less about Toby Cavanaugh and his bitchy stepsister, who had been trying to steal Alison's spotlight ever since her arrival to Rosewood last October. "They were probably fighting about who gets to sleep on the outside of the bed tonight."

Her friend scrunched her nose. "You have a sick mind."

"It's not like they're blood-related," she just said, leaning back in her chair. She glanced around the cafeteria to see if she could spot Jenna, but just as she turned her attention toward the lunch line, she met the cold, begrudging glare of Paige McCullers. The girl gave her a knowing smirk, but before Alison could react, she walked away.

The look on Paige's face made Alison squirm. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the jock was planning something, but Alison was not about to sit around and let herself take the heat. She began to gather her lunch together as an idea formed in her head, and she dismissed herself from Spencer to go follow Paige.

Moments later, she found herself hiding behind a bookcase in the school library, watching impatiently as her teammate pounded out an email on one of the computers. She couldn't read the message from where she was standing, but she could tell by Paige's morose expression that the email involved something personal. If Alison could figure out a way to get into Paige's account, she could finally find the information she needed in order to block Pigskin out of her life for good. She grinned to herself as she pulled out her phone, and composed a text to Cece.

_I think I found my in,_ she typed. _That freak is going to be sorry she ever messed with me by the time I'm through with her._


	2. Chapter 2

Black and blue did not make a pretty color combination against Alison's soft, lightly tanned skin. She'd skipped Math that afternoon to get her shoulder checked by the school nurse, who immediately began asking her uncomfortable questions about her classmates. It wasn't every day a student would get knocked over in Phys Ed and end up with a bruise that big and serious, so it didn't surprise Alison that Ms. Merrick had jumped to the bullying conclusion. She tried not to give the woman an attitude as she applied ice to Alison's shoulder and continued to question her, because she knew it was just standard procedure, but she couldn't pretend that she wasn't annoyed.

"If someone in this school is giving you a hard time, I don't want you to be afraid to tell me," the nurse told her.

Alison gave her a half-smile. "It's just a soccer injury."

Ms. Merrick lowered the icepack from Alison's shoulder, and set it on the bed beside her. "Are you sure that's what really happened? I don't mean to pry, but I've been hearing other things."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Things like what?"

"Like some of your teammates haven't exactly been nice to you this season." The woman folded her arms across her chest, her expression stern. "Bullying is a serious issue in high school these days, and if you're being subjected to violence from other students, I can assure you Rosewood's staff will do everything they can to put an end to it."

Alison wasn't sure what was worse—the fact that Ms. Merrick wouldn't just take her word, or that she was still trying to get Alison to confess to being bullied, when most students in Rosewood would honestly say it was the other way around. She didn't mean to be mean to people, but some of her classmates just rubbed her the wrong way, and she didn't always have a filter when it came to telling them how she felt. It wasn't easy living day after day wondering what everyone else thought about her, and sometimes, that insecurity would cause her to act out in ways that weren't always considered socially acceptable. Even so, there was no way she was ever going to admit to being picked-on by Paige or anyone else on her soccer team. As far as she was concerned, all of her problems with bullies were going to be gone soon enough, anyway.

The nurse walked over to her desk as Alison stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the exam table, and she watched as the other woman wrote something down on a yellow sheet of paper. When she returned to Alison, she picked up the icepack, and handed her the slip. "I'm giving you permission to sit out of gym class for the rest of the week. If your shoulder is still badly hurting by Monday, have your parents set up an appointment with your doctor, in case of any internal damage."

"Thanks." She stuck the slip inside her notebook, and stood up. She started across the room, turning on her heel as she reached the door, and she gave Ms. Merrick one of her signature grins. "And don't worry, if I ever find myself in some kind of trouble with another student, you'll be the first to hear about it."

* * *

After school that day, Alison hung out with Emily on the Fields's front porch, and watched as Toby Cavanaugh mowed his parents' lawn across the street. It was unusually hot that afternoon for March, and Toby had taken off his shirt, so it was hard not to notice his beautifully toned six-pack, even from a distance. Alison never would have admitted that she found Toby slightly attractive, though, because he was such a creep otherwise. Sometimes, as much as she hated Jenna Marshall, she felt bad that the girl had to eat dinner with Toby and his family every night.

Emily hardly even seemed to notice Toby, though, as she was too busy talking about the things she was going to do when her dad came home that weekend. "Sorry I'm missing the sleepover at Spencer's," she said. "But there's no way I'm ditching my dad."

"Don't worry about it," Alison told her. "You probably won't be missing much, anyway." She sighed, and leaned back against the bench, rolling her eyes toward Emily. She'd had a long day, and for the first time in a long time, she didn't know what to say.

Her friend gave her a curious look. "I don't think I saw you in Math today. Did you leave school early?"

Alison blinked, forgetting for a moment that neither of friends knew about her incident with Pigskin the day before. "No, I, uh, had to take care of something."

"Oh." Emily straightened her back, and looked out across her yard. There was a strange expression on her face, as if she was hiding something, but was either too afraid or too ashamed to say what it was.

_I've been hearing things_, the school nurse had told Alison earlier that day. If word had spread to Rosewood's staff about her incident in soccer practice the other day, there was no doubt some of the students were talking about it, too. She turned to Emily, already regretting what she was about to ask, but she knew that if she were going to get a straight answer from anyone, it would be her. "Are people talking about me?"

Emily glanced at her. "Do you want the honest answer, or the kind one?"

"Just tell me what you know," Alison said.

Her friend bit her lip. "People are saying one of your teammates beat you up."

Alison could feel her stomach clench. The way Emily put it, it sounded like Ali was being used as Paige's personal punching bag. Of course, none of the rumors she'd heard had actually mentioned Paige's name directly, but she knew everyone on her soccer team already had a pretty good idea of who they were all talking about.

"So is it true?" Emily asked her after she hesitated to give her friend an answer.

She gave the brunette a half-smile. "Of course not. I fell during practice, and someone thought it would be funny to kick me while I was still on the ground."

But the horrified look on Emily's face made it clear to Alison that she'd still said the wrong thing. "Who was it?"

Alison let out a tight laugh. "Why, are you going to start fighting my battles for me, Em?"

Her friend scowled. "That's not funny. If you don't tell someone about this, you could really end up in a dangerous situation."

"I'm taking care of it," she insisted. "Don't worry about me. And don't tell the other girls I told you, either. If they want to know, they'll come to me themselves."

Emily nodded. "Okay…. But it still doesn't make it right."

Alison had to sympathize with the girl. She was always such a sweetheart, but sometimes, she was just too naïve for her own good. If everything was as easy as Emily seemed to think it was, then just maybe, Alison's life would be a little more bearable. "It happens," she said to her, because there wasn't really much else she could say. Someday, her friend would understand what it was like to feel judged by everyone around her. She didn't want to live to see that day, of course, because if anyone deserved a conflict-free life, it was Emily, but Alison knew it was only a matter of time before that had to change, too.


End file.
